Editor's Note: Be sure to check out the VeloNews.com Cobbles Week home page, which will be updated with previews, interviews and race coverage as this week continues. The page includes Mapmyride maps of the three cobbled classics, a special retrospective gallery of spring classics covers from VeloNews, going back to 1987, and Graham Watson galleries. Basque hills and French cobblestones dominate racing this week in Europe.
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Pua Sawicki and Sid Taberlay took convincing wins at San Diego’s Sagebrush Safari, the third round of the new Sho Air-Specialized U.S. Cup of mountain bike racing. The race was also the third round of the Kenda Cup West. Although it fell just one week after the Fontana National, which was the opening round of USA Cycling’s Pro cross-country tour, the Sagebrush did not see Fontana winners Georgia Gould or Geoff Kabush in attendance. Both riders were en route to the World Cup opener, held this Sunday in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Although not as harsh as Paris-Roubaix, the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders do warrant a few concessions from racers’ typical bikes. For wheels, standard steel spokes and box rims are the rule (although of course there are exceptions). Beyond that, each team's mechanics have their own take on the ideal set-up for the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Here are a few of the details we found at a few teams’ hotels and inside the start village in Brugge.
Flanders Tech: The team version of the S-Works Tarmac features a shorter headtube than the consumer model. The pro model is available for 2009 at retail as a frameset.
Unlike Paris-Roubaix, where mechanics will often install 25 or even 28c tires, the Tour of Flanders isn’t considered rough enough to run more than a 21 or 23c tire by most riders.
Nothing fancy, just effective. “All the vibration from the cobbles has to go somewhere,” Boonen said. “It’s better to have wheels and tires absorb the blows than higher in the bike. Do you remember what happened to Hincapie?” (George Hincapie’s steerer tube cracked at Paris-Roubaix.)
Liquigas mechanics said the Record rear brakes will be re-installed after Paris-Roubaix.
Flanders Tech: Liquigas mechanics replaced the team’s Campagnolo rear brakes with these Cannondale-branded models, which they said made for easier wheel changes while racing because of the quick release. (Campagnolo's quick releases are at the shifter lever on the handlebar.)
Instead of anchoring a bolt in the steerer tube for compressing the stem and headset, Time’s system uses a constricting headset upper.
Want to get a sneak peek at the latest and greatest in cycling gear? Here’s your chance — Interbike is adding two consumer days to its OutDoor Demo East show this fall. The show is scheduled for October 8-11 at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. The first two days are for the cycling industry only, but Saturday and Sunday will be open to the public.
Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) will mount a defense of his title at this week's 57th Circuit de la Sarthe, which begins Tuesday in France. The French rider broke his clavicle on March 13 in the sixth stage of Paris-Nice and wasn’t expected to race, but the former Tour de France yellow jersey-holder will be back in competition less than four weeks after his crash. Voeckler, a winner this year at Haut Var and Etoile de Bèsseges, has also confirmed he will start the Giro d’Italia next month.
Luís León Sánchez continues on his spring rampage, winning the opening stage and donning the leader’s jersey of the Vuelta al País Vasco in Spain. But it almost didn’t happen. The 25-year-old Caisse d’Epargne rider was gapped on a fierce second-category climb with 8km remaining in the 142.5km opening stage and only regained contact with 3km to go.
Long Beach, CA – With no races on the national calendar this week, several riders from the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis took to the streets for local races on both coasts. The result was two race wins and one overall omnium title, courtesy of John Murphy and Bobby Lea. On Saturday, Murphy followed up his Redlands Criterium win from the week before by winning a convincing sprint from a nine-rider break in the inaugural Long Beach Bicycle Festival.
Alberto Contador (Astana) confirmed he will not race any of the upcoming Ardennes classics. Contador was mulling a start in such races as Flèche Wallonne or Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but he’s left them for later rather to risk injury or illness that might setback his preparation for the Tour de France. “Basque Country will be the last race of this first block and when I finish the race, I am going to take a small vacation to disconnect. I will turn off the mobile phone and later focus on preparing for the Tour,” Contador said.
Allan Davis (Quick Step) continued his grip on the UCI world rankings following Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. Flanders, the fifth event in the newly combined ProTour-historic calendar points system, saw some movement in the ranking system. Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo TestTeam), second at Milan-San Remo, bounced from sixth to second in the rankings following his second place at Flanders. Davis leads with 182 points and Haussler slotting into second with 167. Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne), winner of Paris-Nice, slipped from second to third, with 111 points.
Cervelo's Ted King outsprinted OUCH-Maxxis' Tim Johnson Sunday at New England's traditional road season opener, the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race, on Marblehead Neck in Massachusetts. The Pro/1-3 race featured a few nationally known pros with New England connections, including King, Johnson, Adam Myerson, Mark and Frank McCormack and young cyclocross star Nick Keough.
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VeloNews reader Anne-Marie Parramore sent us a remarkable series of photos taken as the peloton comes off the Koppenberg in Sunday's Tour of Flanders.